gluten free sourdough

An easy and flavorful Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread recipe.

Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

gluten-free sourdough starter ((click for recipe))

water (or water)

olive oil

maple syrup (or honey)

apple cider vinegar (or vinegar)

gluten-free all purpose flour

tapioca flour

brown rice flour

millet flour

psyllium husk powder

sea salt salt

baking soda

Combine wet ingredients.

In a large bowl add starter, water, egg, oil, maple syrup, and vinegar. Whisk well.

Combine dry ingredients.

Add remaining dry ingredients. Mix until a dough begins to form.

Knead the dough.

Knead the dough, adding flour as needed, to form a smooth but still slightly tacky round of dough.

Let rise.

Place in a greased bowl or in a greased parchment paper-lined pan. Cover and let rise overnight or at least 6 hours.

Place in refrigerator.

Place the dough in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

Preheat oven.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Place a cast iron skillet or dutch oven into the oven while it preheats, for at least 30 minutes.

Knead and score.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and knead slightly to re-form a nice round of dough. Optionally, score the dough with any design of your choosing. Allow the dough to rest at room temperature while the oven and pan preheat.

Place into pan.

After 30 minutes of resting time, place the dough into a greased parchment paper-lined dutch oven or cast iron skillet. If using a dutch oven, place a few ice cubes on the outside of the parchment, but on the inside of the pan before placing the lid and on and placing into the oven. If using a cast iron or other oven-safe skillet, place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven right after place the bread on the middle rack. Keep the oven door closed the entire time to ensure proper steaming.

Bake.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread has formed a nice golden crust, is firm and sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom.

Let cool.

Let the bread cool completely before slicing for best results. Slicing too soon can result in a gummy or dense bread.

Enjoy.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/eDhOCX7i.mp4

An easy Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread recipe with a perfect golden crust and soft & flavorful middle. This rustic-style boule is dairy-free, too!

The 7-Inch Sourdough Boule is a perfect first bread recipe to make if you’ve recently started or have a gluten-free brown rice sourdough starter. I’ve simplified the steps to make it easier for anyone to try! The ingredients create a perfectly soft crumb and crispy crust that softens once it cools. This sourdough bread is delicious when enjoyed fresh and always amazingly tasty when toasted. 
Baking Schedule Example: If you start the process the night before you want to bake, you could enjoy fresh sourdough by the next evening! 

(Evening Day 1) Remove the starter from the refrigerator and feed it (set aside overnight).
(Morning Day 2) Feed the starter again and wait until it’s active (2-4 hours).
(Starter is Ready) Mix your bread ingredients and rise the dough (3-5 hours).
Preheat oven (and Dutch oven) 30-60 minutes before you bake.
Bake (1 hour 20 minutes).
Cool (4-6 hours). Enjoy bread!

Tools: Large Mixing Bowl (or Stand Mixer bowl), Large Bowl, Sifter/Sieve/Strainer, Kitchen Scale, Silicone Spatula, Banneton Basket/Soup Bowl, Dutch oven (5qt or Larger), Unbleached Parchment Paper, Lame or Sharp Blade, Wire Rack

7-Inch Sourdough Boule (GF/V)

active brown rice

whole psyllium husk (4 tbsps)

pure maple syrup (1.5 tbsps)

olive oil (1.5 tbsps)

light buckwheat flour (1/2 cup)

GF oat flour (scant 1 cup)

potato starch (1/2 cup)

tapioca starch (1/2 cup)

brown rice flour (1/4 cup)

sea salt (1/2 tbsp)

Schedule Example

Remove the starter jar from the fridge around dinnertime and wait a few hours. I keep about 1 cup of starter in the jar when I refrigerate it between bakes. Feed the starter before bedtime. It doesn’t have to be precise. Add a few heaping spoonfuls of brown rice flour with enough water to stir. 

First thing in the morning, take a portion of the starter and feed it again to get it even livelier. Do so by combining approximately 1/2 cup active starter 133g with 70g brown rice flour and 62g water (mix &amp; cover) and wait until it gets bubbly/active again—usually a few hours. Or feed the starter a second time, right in the same jar, using the previous measurements as a guide. The goal is to create enough bubbly sourdough starter for the recipe (265g/1 cup). TIP: Feeding the starter more, right in the same jar is often faster.

It was my first time making gluten free sourdough and it turned out so good…simply because of this step by step recipe! Super easy to follow and it tastes amazing 🥲 Give it a try!! You won’t regret it!

Dear Chantal
Thanks so much for this recipe.
I've tried it twice, and had better results with it than the recipe I usually use.
The first time I didn't quite have the right flours, so I subbed teff for buckwheat and sourgum for rice flour. I also used powdered psyllium instead of whole.

The second  time I doubled the quantities so I could make 2 loaves (btw, I use 2lb ordinary loaf tins with no lid). This time I used bit of quinoa, more teff, and a little sorghum. I omitted the maple syrup ( as I don't like sweet bread) and forgot to put in the oil!

The loaves turned out very well, though obviously I didn't get the rise you get with lighter flours. I preferred it without oil, and will continue to use the recipe. I like its lower hydration - it's a lot less wet than my usual bread. I removed the loaves from the tins after 40 minutes and put them directly on the oven shelves for another 40 mins, and then probably left them in the oven after it was switched off for another 15-20 mins. As you say, the crust softens overnight.

So thanks again Chantal! It's a very forgiving recipe and easy to make. Also quick, as there's no preferment.

This bread turns out both great rounds and sandwich loaves! Also doesn't seem so be finicky with the temperature weve had to bake at different temperatures twice as we have had other things in the oven. Thank you for sharing these great recipes.

Hi bakers, I followed Chantal's recipe for the sourdough starter with brown rice first. Then I went ahead and made two loaves. My first time, I baked it in the cake form and used all the ingredients except for the marple syrup, I had Agave syrup at home and I believe that worked as well.
On my second, I added pumpkin and sunflower seeds for more texture but also hoping that it will mask the psyllium husk flavour which it did quite well. I took both to a tasting event and it was well received, we did not need to toast it as it was purely delicious. We had hummus and cheese as well as falafel with it.
I did not use a stand mixer and the crumb was super open.

I really can’t wait to make this recipe, thank u so much :) (I’ll be making it tomorrow after tonight’s starter refresh).
I usually make sourdough fermented for 12-24h (most of that time in the fridge). Do you think that would work with this one? 3-5h don’t seem enough for me to neutralise antinutrients properly. How would I know if it overprooved? :)

Hi, Chantal.  Thanks for the clear instructions and videos, too.  All so helpful.  I baked my first of many loaves and it turned out beautiful and delicious.  I think my oven maybe ran a little hot as I think next time I will only do the 2nd lid off back at 30 minutes.  I substituted psyllium powder instead of husk, and sorghum instead of buckwheat and arrowroot instead of tapioca because these are the ingredients that I have.  Next I will try the buns and also a loaf pan style bread.  I really appreciate being able to bake my own bread again.  I took a picture but can’t figure out how to attach it.

Dear Chantal,
Is 1 Tablespoon of salt correct?
I followed the recipe to the letter and found it very salty. 
Did you mean 1 teaspoon  perhaps?
A recipe should not include such a variant as 1/2 - 1 Tbl. There is a major difference.  Most recipes call for 1 teaspoon of salt.

Hi.  Tried the recipe at the weekend.  It didn't quite work (my fault).  It might be worth adding a little note for idiots like me to use weight when substiting ground psyllium husk.  I am of course the idiot who put in four tablespoons not 20g!!!

I have to say I am SO impressed with this recipe! I have made it every week for the past few weeks and it turns out perfect each time. I substitute sorghum for buckwheat as you suggested and don't have any issues. The last GF sourdough recipe I tried was way too dense and wet. This one is airy, light, and flavorful. Thanks for changing the bread game in our house!

This bread is absolutely a 5 star recipe! I have been baking gf sourdough for almost a year, and this is the loveliest balance of texture and flavor that I have found thus far. I have made this recipe quite a few times in the last month or so and it is perfect every time. I’ve gifted it to several of my fellow gf friends and they have all loved it as well. Thank you for a recipe full of wholesome ingredients that give us the opportunity to enjoy fresh, fluffy, and gluten-free  bread!

Hi, Chantal  I been baking GF sourdough breads with your recipes for 2 years now, and love them.  But I somehow missed this one.  I just baked with this recipe, that turned out very best boule!  I usually toast slices with iron pan, but this bread tasted excellent without toasting.  I changed Potato starch, as I cannot take it, to Tapioca and arrow root starch. And maple syrup to Agave.  It was no problem, great result!  Thank you so much!

Hi! Mu son has an eosinophilic disease and Rice, buckwheat and oat allergy among his laundry list of allergens (which also include eggs, milk, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, corn, beef, pork, fish, all legumes, tomato, and avocado.) wondering what might be options to sub the rice, buckwheat and oat? He hasn’t has bread in over 6 years and I’ve been been searching for a recipe that was safe for him every since. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you!

So happy with how this one turned out! Not sticky or gummy, with a soft and chewy crumb. Technically mine isn’t completely gf as I added some rye starter (in addition to brown rice and buckwheat starter), but next time I’m definitely going to try with gf starter only. 

I used cornstarch instead of potato starch, and half the amount of starter overall. 
Your detailed instructions including visual cues are super helpful, as is the video. Thank you so much for all the work you put into your posts, and for including substitutions where applicable. It’s a lot of work to test recipes to cater to as many allergens as possible, really appreciate your efforts!
Thank you Chantal 💛
Look forward to trying more of your recipes.

Hi, I have gluten free brown rice sourdough. I really want to bake the bread, but I have sensitivity to many things, including  gluten, tapioca, eggs, milk, banana, potato, corn and many other ingredients. I can use flour such as oats, basmati rice, wholemeal rice flour, white rice flour, millet, ground flax seeds. I don't know if I have a sensitivity to psyllium and I really want to bake the bread. What can replace the tapioca flour and the psyllium? It would be great if you could help me with this, thanks a lot, Ziv

Amazing! I made my first ever loaf of sourdough bread, let alone GF sourdough and it was beyond perfect!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnTmkqVnmiY

This NEW sourdough recipe video for a Gluten-Free, Vegan, Nut-Free and allergen-friendly bread boule, buns or bread pan loaf is an excellent tutorial for all bakers! It's packed with instructions, TIPS and TRICKS to help you make your first (or second) gluten-free sourdough or help you bake amazing tasty soft sourdough buns! This How-To video might even help you perfect your bread recipe if you've been experimenting with GF sourdough for a while now. I mention it in the video, but in the past, I've created many bread recipes that are not only GF and vegan but also free of oat, rice, nut, corn and legume flour. You can find those recipes on freshisreal.com. This RECIPE is MY favourite! I find it has just the right combination of GF flours and starches to create the best texture. Plus, my body is ok with buckwheat, GF oat and brown rice flour. If you can't consume one (or a few) of the ingredients on the list, you can sub one of the light flours with sorghum flour or see the recipe post for more alternatives. The blog includes many other bread recipes for a variety of dietary restrictions. You can also reach out to me with your specific questions if it's easier. Do so in the comments of this video or the recipe post. The baking Facebook group is a great place to chat with others trying out this recipe or other allergen-friendly recipes. #glutenfreesourdough #sourdough #glutenfreebread

0:00 Start (Intro)
0:44 Starter Details
1:52 Ingredients
2:00 Mixing Dough
2:22 Weigh Starter
2:28 Preparing Psyllium Gel 
2:41 Water Temperature Tip
2:59 Dry Ingredients
3:13 Mixing Dough (Hand or Mixer)
3:52 Boule Instructions
6:23 Bread Pan Instructions
8:20 Buns Instructions
10:16 Final details

NEWEST Recipe Post & Full Instructions: 
» https://www.freshisreal.com/7-inch-so...

Recipe post with Instructions for BUNS - Coming Soon! 
(I'll add the link here asap.)

Gluten-Free Sourdough STARTER Recipes
» https://www.freshisreal.com/category/...

Smaller Portion Brown Rice Starter
» https://www.freshisreal.com/easiest-g...

Original Brown Rice Starter
» https://www.freshisreal.com/gluten-fr...

Rice-Free Bread Recipes:
» https://www.freshisreal.com/category/bread/rice-free-bread/

Oat-Free Bread Recipes:
» https://www.freshisreal.com/category/bread/oat-free-bread/
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INGREDIENTS for this GF SOURDOUGH:
265g active brown rice sourdough starter (1 cup); see instructions
330g/ml room temp water (70-85°F) (plus 1–2 extra tbsps if necessary)
20g whole psyllium husk (4 tbsps)
20g/ml pure maple syrup (1.5 tbsps)
20g/ml olive oil (1.5 tbsps)
80g light buckwheat flour (1/2 cup)
80g GF oat flour (scant 1 cup)
80g potato starch (1/2 cup)
60g tapioca starch (1/2 cup)
40g brown rice flour 1/4 cup)
8–10g sea salt (1/2–1 tbsp)
__________________________

NOTE: I added a link to a similar Pullman bread pan at the bottom.
Amazon seems to be out of the bread pan that I have. 
Approx. Size: 8.2x4.7inch

Facebook Gluten-Free Vegan Baking Group: 
» http://bit.ly/2EJIBEQ

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NEW Sourdough Recipe GF Vegan Nut-Free

Customize your homemade sourdough crackers with ingredients you have at home and that your family loves! These easy to make no-junk crackers are great for picnic season! Enjoy this perfect little snack! 
This recipe along with the sourdough cereal snack and the discard crackers are featured in this video!
Tools needed:

Medium mixing bowl
Liquid measuring cups
Kitchen scale
Dry ingredients measuring cups and spoons
Mixing spoon/soft spatula
Baking sheet(s)
Unbleached parchment paper
Rolling pin (very useful)
Large chef knife, pizza cutter, round 2-in cookie cutter 

Easy Sourdough Crackers (GF/V)

GF sourdough starter (125 grams)*

GF flour combo (approx. 125 grams)**

olive oil***

golden flaxseed meal

seeds (sesame, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin, poppy seeds, etc.)

nutritional yeast (optional)****

GF baking powder

fine sea salt

thyme (stems removed)

garlic powder

paprika

cayenne pepper

red pepper flakes

plant milk (soy, coconut, hemp, almond, rice)*****

Before you begin, watch the How-To Video YouTube. It will help you make these Easy Sourdough Crackers!

Preheat your oven to 350° F and get some unbleached parchment paper (2 sheets approx. 18 x 13 inches), rolling pin, large knife or pizza cutter ready. 

Step 1 

In a medium bowl, combine and mix all the ingredients until the dough comes together without dry bits. TIP: Add the plant milk in increments until you get the right consistency. You want enough liquids to help you stick everything together without making everything mushy and wet.

Step 2

Place the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, press down and roll out the dough until very thin, 1/8-in is excellent! The thinner you roll the dough, the crispier the crackers will be. TIP: You can divide the dough into two smaller portions if it makes it easier for you to roll out. Carefully peel off the top sheet and sprinkle extra seeds, sea salt, and fresh or dry herbs. Place the second sheet back overtop the rolled out dough to help you press in the toppings. Again, carefully peel off the top sheet but keep the bottom one for baking. 

Step 3

With a large chef knife, pizza, or cookie-cutter score, your dough to your preferred cracker shape. Scoring/slicing your crackers into squares or rectangles is easy to maximize every inch of the dough.

Step 4

Transfer the cut dough (with bottom parchment paper) to your baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until the crackers baked throughout and the edges are crisp. Cool on a wire rack, break them apart and enjoy!

Step 5

Just made these, thanks for sharing this recipe! I was looking for ways to use my excess brown rice sourdough starter (without the need to feed it again), and this was perfect and easy. It didn't rise that much, perhaps due to my sourdough being inactive (was in the fridge for the few days), but still taste great and crispy nonetheless!

Amazing crackers! I’m so glad I found this recipe. I refreshed some discard that had been sitting in the fridge for weeks, allowed it to warm up for four hours and then went ahead. I used a mixture of white rice, almond, buckwheat and gram flour. Approx 20mins at 180 Celsius and so moreish.

These are the most delicious crackers EVER!
I make them to give friends when I visit and try to always have some to munch at home. Thankyou 🙏

These crackers are delicious! Super easy and adaptable. My starter is not GF but they came out great. Thank you!

Oh my gosh! These are so good and sk easy. Will definitely be a repeat!

Hi ... I just finally successfully made my own gf starter (your easiest gf starter :)  and was so happy and nervous at the same time not knowing what to do with the discard. So glad I found this recipe and rebaked twice already, these are so good. I used 3 types of flour (sorgum, white rice and fermented cassava flour).  Thanks Chantal for sharing this fabulous recipe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMgpxz3u-D0

Baking the Easy Sourdough Crackers & Cereal Snack has saved my crunching needs! In the busier months, it’s great to have tasty snacks to grab and go­—especially for potluck/picnic season! You will fall in love with the Discard Crackers/Chips if you can’t consume corn tortilla chips! It’s the Bonus Recipe in the video! ➡️PLEASE see each recipe post on freshisreal.com for details. They include information about the ingredients, substitutions, the GF flour combo, and how to use your gluten-free sourdough starter or sourdough discard. Recipe links below ⬇️
 
Ps. Watch until the end! I’m showing off some of the Wild Yeast Bread (GF Sourdough) that some of you (GFV Baking Facebook group) have baked! Join the group » http://bit.ly/2EJIBEQ

#dicardcrackers #glutenfreesourdough #glutenfreesourdoughstarter #glutenfreerecipes #discardrecipes #cerealsnack #glutenfreevegan
_________________________

⬇️Get the FULL RECIPES with INSTRUCTIONS here ⬇️
CRACKERS » https://www.freshisreal.com/easy-sourdough-crackers-(gf-v)/
CEREAL » https://www.freshisreal.com/sourdough-cereal-snack-(gf-v)/
CHIPS » https://www.freshisreal.com/sourdough-discard-crackers-(gf-v)/
_________________________

GF Sourdough Starter RECIPE: 
 » https://www.freshisreal.com/gluten-fr...

GF Sourdough Starter VIDEO: 
» https://youtu.be/yOo7I6wxSN4
_________________________

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» Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/c/freshisreal...
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DISCLAIMER: 
This description contains Amazon affiliate links. If you click, follow and make a purchase from a link, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
_________________________

Related INGREDIENTS and KITCHEN tools:
(AMAZON AFFILIATE PRODUCTS)

» [ US ] GF Brown Rice Flour: https://amzn.to/3cajnzC
» [ US ] GF Buckwheat Flour: https://amzn.to/2ZYG8UP
 » [ US ] GF Sorghum Flour: https://amzn.to/3c7uHwg
» [ US ] GF Oat Flour: https://amzn.to/3deH1Mq
» [ US ] GF Golden Flaxseed Meal: https://amzn.to/2X9BGAx
» [ US ] Unbleached Parchment Paper: https://amzn.to/38mGg1B
» [ US ] OXO Pizza Cutter: https://amzn.to/3dbscKE
» [ US ] Clear Glass 2-QT Mixing Bowl: https://amzn.to/2wYnMqg
_________________________

MOST RECENT BREAD RECIPE VIDEO:

Wild Yeast Bread (GF Vegan Sourdough)
» https://youtu.be/8EzbPsTZePw

_________________________

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EASY Sourdough Crackers & Cereal Snack (GF VEGAN)

A simple homemade recipe that creates a healthier alternative to store-bought cereal. It’s quick to make and easy to grab and eat, that you might end up eating it all as a snack! You can also bake the dough as larger rectangular or round cookies!
This recipe along with the easy sourdough crackers and the discard crackers are featured in this video!
Useful Tools:

Medium mixing bowl
Liquid measuring cups
Kitchen scale
Dry ingredients measuring cups and spoons
Mixing spoon/soft spatula
Baking sheet(s)
Unbleached parchment paper
Rolling pin (very useful)
Large chef knife, pizza cutter, round 2-in cookie cutter 

Sourdough Cereal Snack (GF/V)

coconut palm sugar (40 grams)

coconut oil***

cinnamon powder

pure vanilla extract (or 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla powder)

plant milk (soy, coconut, hemp, almond, rice)****

Before you begin, watch the How-To Video YouTube. It will help you make this Sourdough Cereal Snack!

Step 1

 Preheat your oven to 350° F and get some unbleached parchment paper (2 sheets approx. 18 x 13 inches), rolling pin, large knife, pizza cutter or cookie cutter ready. Step 2In a medium bowl, combine and mix all the ingredients until the dough comes together without dry bits. TIP: Add the plant milk in increments until you get the right consistency. You want enough liquids to help you stick everything together without making everything mushy and wet.Step 3Place the dough in between two sheets of parchment paper. With a rolling pin, press down and roll out the dough until very thin, 1/8-in is great! The thinner you roll the dough the crispier the cereal will be. TIP: You can divide the dough into two smaller portions if it makes it easier for you to roll out. Carefully peel off the top sheet. Step 4With a large chef knife, pizza cutter or cookie cutter score your dough to your preferred cereal or crispy cookie shape. If making cereal just make sure that each piece is bite-size. See post pictures and or watch the video to help you with this step. Sprinkle your dough with more cinnamon, coconut palm sugar or maple sugar if you wish—it makes it extra yummy!Step 5Transfer the cut dough (with bottom parchment paper) to your baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes until the cereal (or cookies) is baked throughout and the edges are crisp. Keep on eye on the cereal. Because there’s sugar it could burn if over-baked. Cool on a wire rack, break pieces apart and enjoy! 

Another great recipe! Super easy to make &amp; my 8 year old devoured them. 🤩 (I replaced applesauce for the oil.)

I love this recipe! To do and redo as it is good!

Do you dream of baking loaves of fresh homemade sourdough bread… but can’t eat gluten? I’m here to tell you that dreams can come true! Get started on your gluten-free sourdough journey by following these easy step-by-step instructions to make your own gluten-free sourdough starter from scratch - using only three ingredients!

How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter From Scratch

organic brown rice flour (and/or buckwheat flour)

360 mL filtered water, room-temperature

organic apple

Wash your apple, but avoid using soaps or produce wash. Using a cheese grater, grate the organic apple into semi-fine shreds. Use the skins, but discard the core.

Add 500 grams of brown rice or buckwheat flour, the grated apple, and 360 mL of lukewarm un-chlorinated water (about 1.5 cups) to a mixing bowl and thoroughly combine.

Transfer the mixture into a large glass airtight container that has enough room for it to at least double in size, minimum. (Ours usually quadruples while fermenting) Pack the mixture down into the bottom of the container. Close the lid.

To monitor growth, mark the side of your container with a washable marker or rubber band at the top level of the mixture.

Let the mixture sit for 3 days (72 hours) at a temperature of 70-75 degrees F. It should bubble and rise during this time.

After approximately 72 hours, thoroughly stir the mixture and then discard half of the amount. Then, thoroughly mix in another 250 grams of flour and 180 mL of tepid filtered water (about 3/4 cup) to the remaining starter mixture. This is called &quot;feeding&quot; the sourdough starter. You can do this either in a separate bowl, and put it back into a now-clean ferment vessel, or like we do, mix it in place.

Re-mark the container to note the height of the mixture. Let sit at 70-75 degrees, for 2 days or 48 hours this time.

After 48 hours, repeat the same discard and feed process as done previously. Discard half, feed, mix, mark the level, and cover again. This time, make it slightly more wet - using 250 grams of flour and about 220 mL of water.

Allow the sourdough starter mixture to sit for a final 24 hours.

Once complete, you now have a happy and active gluten-free sourdough starter! Store it in the refrigerator when not in use, taking it out to warm up and be fed weekly. OR if stored at room temperature, feed it daily to keep it alive.

*There is a TON more information &amp; FAQs in the blog post above, so check there to see if your questions are answered*
Always wanted to make your own gluten-free sourdough bread? To get started, first you'll need to learn How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter! All it takes is gluten-free flour, water, and time.
This process takes about one to two weeks, twice a day in the beginning, but only takes a few minutes for each feeding.
If you want to see more visuals of the process, I documented the entire process of creating a sourdough starter from scratch on my Instagram story highlights. You can go to my Instagram page and look for "GF Starter" and "Starter 2" to see the process. There is also a Starter Q&amp;A highlight with helpful troubleshooting.

How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Flour, I recommend brown rice

Room Temperature Filtered Water

Clean your jar well with soap and hot water. It doesn&#8217;t need to be sanitized in a hot water bath like canning, but it needs to be clean to make sure there are no bacteria lurking around that will harm your starter and hinder its growth.

Weigh your jar on your scale. Using a label or piece of tape, mark your jar with how much it weighs. This will help you to know exactly how much starter you have left in your jar when you&#8217;re feeding.

In the morning, combine 50g flour and 50g room temperature water in your clean jar using a non-reactive spoon, like stainless steel or wood. If you&#8217;re using an absorbent type of flour, you may need a little bit more water. You&#8217;re looking for a thick paste-like consistency. Scrape down the sides of the jar and close lightly, not fully sealed but covered. You can also cover it with a tea towel and a rubber band to hold it in place.

Leave in a slightly warm place all day. Repeat at night before you go to bed (about 12 hours later), adding 50g more of each flour and water to the jar. Stir, and scrape down. We&#8217;re doing twice a day feedings in the beginning to help strengthen the starter quickly.

Repeat this process morning and night for two full days, or four total feedings. You should be noticing some bubbles by now, and maybe some odd smells! Persevere through any bad smells, they should go away in a few days.

First Discard

If you&#8217;re seeing bubbles and have a sour smell, you&#8217;re ready to discard. Day three you&#8217;ll want to remove half of the starter. Later on in the process, you can keep the starter to use for other recipes. But at this point, you&#8217;ve still got bad bacteria in the mix, so I recommend throwing it away or putting it into your compost.

For the next five days, you&#8217;ll want to discard half of the starter every feed. Keep feeding 50g each of flour and water. We&#8217;ll up this to 100g for maintenance when we start baking with it, but for now, we don&#8217;t want to create any extra waste! You may notice your starter gets less active when you start discarding it. Don&#8217;t worry &#8211; that&#8217;s normal, and your starter is just gaining strength.

Keep feeding twice a day until you start seeing good bubbles. Once you&#8217;re seeing good bubbling and rise, you can switch to once-a-day feeds.

Around this time is when I generally start having a nice bubbly starter with a pleasant, yeasty smell. However, everyone&#8217;s conditions are different, so don&#8217;t worry if you&#8217;re not there yet! Just continue on with feedings. If your starter is smelling good at this point with good bubbles, you can start using the discard for sourdough discard recipes.

Once you start seeing good bubbles and have a pleasant smell, this is usually sometime during the second week, increase your feedings to 100% hydration, with 100g of flour.

100% hydration feeding means a 1:1:1 ratio of starter:flour:water

This can vary slightly based on the absorbency of your flour, but it will be about equal. For my brown rice flour starter, it ends up being pretty even, but with my sorghum starter, I find I only need about 80g of sorghum flour to 100g each of starter and water. We&#8217;re looking for a thick, pasty consistency, so add a little extra water if your starter gets too thick.

Once you switch to the 100% hydration feeding, you will start seeing good growth and should notice that your starter will double (or come close) sometime between three to five hours after feeding. When it&#8217;s at its highest, that&#8217;s what we call peak activity. Peak activity is when you&#8217;ll want to mix up your preferment for your sourdough bread.

If you are feeding for maintenance

you can feed and return straight to the refrigerator.

If you are feeding to prepare for a bake

remove from the refrigerator, feed as normal, and make your preferment when the starter is at peak rise. Sometimes, two feedings are needed to help the starter come back from its dormancy in the fridge and get to a good, bubbly rise.

Week 2

What an amazing, comprehensive guide! I knew nothing about baking or sourdough starters and these instructions are super easy and not intimidating! Following along her Instagram stories helps too, so you can see visuals. My starter lives in my fridge now for the week and I take him out Thursday night and after two feeds I’m baking all weekend again!! Obsessed!!

Rachel I’m in love with your gluten and started recipes. I wasn’t I cooker but your blog and your recipes has just changed the way I used to look at the cooking and kitchen tasks lol.
If I’m storing my starter in the refrigerator. Should I feed it and immediately put it in the refrigerator or should I wait a little bit?
Thanks

a week ago, I began this starter....as I have had very poor results with yeast GF bread....the Bakerita method appeared to be good, so I began my starter....with brown rice flour &amp;  filtered water......everything was going well....on Day 5, I was ready to do the feed...and found black mold on the inside of the rim to my jar.   I threw it away.....I have a healthy SD Starter....which is about 7 months old and does well.....I expected the same results with the GF SD Starter.....Perhaps I will give it a go again....NOTE:  my jar had been hand cleaned and after having gone through the dishwasher

The gluten free flour I have is all purpose but contains- brown rice, golden flaxseed, quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, arrowroot, tapioca flour and xanthan gum. I'm concerned about the xanthan gum, is it still okay to use for starting starter?

I’m thoroughly enjoying your guide and the sourdough process! My brown rice starter is on day 10 with good bubbles and decent rise (some days are better than others). On day 3, I had a delicious sour smell. Unfortunately, after that, it started smelling like alcohol. I realized I wasn’t discarding enough, which explained the alcohol smell (too much starter and not enough food). I fixed the problem about three days about. I’m now discarding down to 100g and doing one feed a day at 1:1:1. Still, my starter has a hint of alcohol, even if it is starting to smell more yeasty. So here are my questions:

1) Can I use the starter yet, or should I wait longer?

2) Can I use the discard, even if it smells like alcohol?

3) How do I get the starter to smell sour/yeasty again?

Thank you!

When I say this changed my life, I’m not being overly dramatic. I have been gluten free for nine years, and the thing I missed most was good bread and specifically sourdough. This made the process so much less intimidating and set me up for success from the start. I also highly suggest you follow her on instagram, she has so much helpful info in her story highlights as well. I will forever be grateful I found Bakerita Blog!!!

I've been having a lot of fun with my starter and about to make my second loaf soon. Just a couple questions....
1. When I take my starter out to make the preferment do I feed the original starter too or leave it til the next day?
2. How long does the discard last in the fridge before I should toss?

I started week 2 of my starter process last night and went ahead with the 1:1:1 ratio. However, even though I’m using brown rice flour, it is not even close to 1:1:1 with the water. To get a thick paste I have to add more than a few drops of water. When I was just adding 50 grams of water and flour, it was more of a custard texture. Doing a 1:1:1 ratio, it becomes more powder than anything and it all gets clogged up in the whisk. But I have a lot of bubbles on day 8.5!

Hi Rachel!  Your blog and book changed my gluten free life!  I tried the sourdough starter today and my bread was perfect.  I want to use my starter two more days for bread and pizza but during the weekend I want to put it on the fridge.  I have two questions: 1 Do you cover the jar with a lid when is on the fridge? 2 When you take it out to begin baking again you cover it with a kitchen towel again as in the beginning or a lid?

Thanks for your help!

So, as the morning of Day 3, my starter had climbed pretty high up in the jar with all kinds of bubbles.   And smelled nice and fresh. Surprised the heck out of me.

Still, as instructed, I reluctantly tossed out a gob of it down to the 100g's and have been doing the +50g flour + water additions (tossing out the 'extra'.).  By the time of each feeding, the thing has expanded to double or more, with small bubbles throughout, and a smattering of larger ones. 

A couple questions:
- Is it *supposed* to smell bad?  Mine hasn't yet - just a nice, fresh wet dough aroma.
- I haven't gotten 'hooch' yet, but there's usually a small puddle of water at the bottom of the jar - underneath the dough.   I include that with the starter I discard.   Should I reduce the water/flour ratio a tad?  

The thing seems so civil and well-behaved and here I'm sitting wondering if I'm doing it right.  LOL

Meanwhile 5 stars so far!

Hello! I began the starter a day and a half ago, and it is already looking and smelling fantastic! I am super excited. Thank you so much for the super detailed blog post, it has been super helpful.

I have two questions:

1. I am running low on millet flour (the flour I used), would it be possible to add a different type of flour, such as brown rice, or should I buy more millet flour from the store? Which would work best?

2. You mention in this post that you should not eat the sourdough discard for some time. When is it safe to use the discard in recipes? 

Thank you so, so much for your time and effort! Have an awesome day :)

PS: On an unrelated note, I made your paleo brownies yesterday, and they are gone already! Super, super tasty, and I am not even paleo!

Hello!! I am about seven days into my starter, and I have a few questions. So far it is looking fantastic and it is already smelling SO good! I have noticed “hooch” on top of the starter. I read that this is because the starter is hungry, probably because it is so hot here. Right now I am leaving 100g of starter feeding 100gish water and 100g flour once a day every morning. Do you know if/how I should change how much I feed it? Should I do it twice a day? If so, how much do I discard? Thank you so incredibly much for your help and the in-depth blog post! I also made some awesome GF pancakes today with the sourdough discard and they were the best gf pancakes ever!:))

Hi! I’m on day 8 and my starter seems to be doing well. I’ve been using brown rice flour and before every feed the top appears cracked and dryer and the bottom still quite wet, with a souring smell. I’m not too sure if this is how it should be as I had transferred it to a bigger jar on day four before weighing it and had accidentally been discarding too much, about 2/3 of the starter instead of 1/2. So on the night of day four, I fed it double the required amount to get back to the size it was. I was wondering if I should feed for a couple more days to catch up and make sure it’s right. Thanks!

I had never done a starter before and was feeling intimidated by the whole thing, but I decided to give it a shot after reading through your recipe page on making a GF starter and my first GF sourdough bread turned out amazing! My whole family enjoyed it. This recipe page was very thorough and organized, which made it easy to follow! I also made the sourdough discard crackers today, and those were a hit for my family as well! Thank you for your help and taking the time to share all of these wonderful GF recipes!

I’ve had my starter going since June of 2022, thanks for this, I’ve made loads of sourdough and focaccia and pizza crusts for my celiac wife and she’s super stoked. If we are going away for a few months can I freeze a starter? I saw notes about dehydrating, what’s the best way to go about that?

Thanks again!

Trying this starter as I write! Thank you!! I have baked bread in my 3 qt Dutch oven. Is this recipe to large for my pan?

I began making GF sourdough starter 5 days ago with Bob’s red mill 1:1 GF flour.. and I see here in your recipe it says to not use ones with starch or gums.

I noticed that one has potato starch and 2 gums in it 

Should I start all over ? And if so, what Flour do you recommend ? 

Hi (:
I have a couple of questions..

1. From days Three through Seven you wrote "Keep feeding twice a day until you start seeing good bubbles". Should I discard the sourdough with every feeding or once a day?

2. You wrote "100% hydration, with 100g of flour", does it mean I need to feed 100g of starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water?

3. What do I need to add to the starter after I use some of it and I want to put it in the refrigerator?

4. For the question "If you are feeding to prepare for a bake" you wrote "feed as normal". Did you mean a 100% hydration feeding or 50g of flour and 50g of water? and do I need to discard the starter in this process?

Thank you for this recipe! I'm going to make your sourdough bread recipe right after the starter will be ready!

Hi (: 
(I sent this comment before but I cant see it anywhere.. so I'm sending it again)
I have a couple of questions..

1. You wrote "Keep feeding twice a day until you start seeing good bubbles" on days Three through Seven, should I discard the starter every feeding or just once a day?

2. ON week two you wrote "increase your feedings to 100% hydration, with 100g of flour", does it mean I should discard the starter, feed 100g of the starter with 100g of flour and 100g of water?

3. For the question "If you are feeding to prepare for a bake" you wrote "feed as normal", did you mean to 100% hydration feedings or 50g of flour and 50g of water feedings?

4. What do I need to add to my starter if I used some of it and I want to put the rest of it in the refrigerator? do I need to feed it before it goes to the fridge?

Thank you!

Hello Rachel, Is it possible to make the sourdough starter also from whole rice flour and not from brown rice only?
Thank You, Ziv

It worked! I have a doubling starter! Thanks sooooo much :) 

Hello Rachel!
I tried to do the water test with the starter (when you put some starter on top of warm water..) and my starter didn’t pass the test! (It should float on top of the water if the starter is really to be used, my starter sinked to the bottom). Is that mean my starter isn’t ready to be used? If so what should I do? Or maybe the water test is only for starters with gluten?
Thank you!!

I’m on week 4 I believe of my starter! It’s supper bubbly and active but after about a week and a half it started smelling funky. It smelled really good for a couple of days and then all of the sudden it started to smell very strong and like alcohol with a bad smell behind it. I’m not sure of this is normal for a gluten free starter but it definitely isn’t for a gluten starter so I’m worried I did something wrong. I don’t want to bake with it if it isn’t a normal thing so I was hoping you might have some advise!!

Hello, I started 50gms of Brown rice flour with approx 60gms water 36 hours ago (50gms water was still a very dry paste).  Fed 12 hours later and enough water to make it a smooth batter like texture again.  Left it for the next 12 hours in the oven with a light on but mixed it once, and this morning the starter has exploded out of the container.  There is a nice slightly sour smell but I'm worried as my starter has more than tripled in 36 hours perhaps it's over energetic (wrong fermentation with bad microbes?) and not something I should continue with.  
Do I still retain 100gms but perhaps feed less than 50gms daily for the next 2 weeks since my starter seems to be an excessive over achiever?  Many thanks!

i’m on day 2 and my starter has double in size a few hours after both my morning and evening feeds. should i continue with the schedule you posted? 

Another stupid question. When making the starter, do I close the jar with lid or do I use a cloth just to cover opening? Is this true throughout the growing stages? I see you recommended a mason-like jar with lid. So would I keep the lid shut throughout? Just confused— your pictures show starter without closed lid.

Loving this! I missed a feeding on day 3 (the second one) do I need to start over or can I keep going? It has a very vinegar like smell and didn’t expand overnight like it has been. 

Hello! The guide says to discard all but 100-120 starting on day three, but the instructions say to discard half (which is slightly different amount for me, it leaves me with about 190g of starter when I discard half)... should I be going all the way down to 100-120 or is doing half, leaving me with 190, OK? I messed up on my first try and want to get it right on take 2. Thank you!

What if you have refirgerated your starter and then totally forgot to continue feeding it! Lol!!! Can I revive it or should I discard? Totally embarrassing question :)

So sorry if this is repeated. Any advice would be great. I’m on week 2 and although I’m getting some rise above my elastic band line it’s not doubling and going up the jar. I’ve used brown rice flour and stuck to the recipe (I think)

Thank you 

I never leave comments for anything but I have to say this recipe for starter was so worth the work and the wait and the "I must be doing something wrong".  Watching the video really helped. Thankyou for that.
I am now making Gluten Free Sourdough bread for my son who is Celiac. He is so excited to be able to enjoy Sourdough Bread again that has such a wonderful taste and texture.
My DIL requested some starter and is taking over the bread making at their house. So cool!
Also the best chocolate chip peanut butter cookies ever Also GF chocolate cake ...
 so fluffy and yummy.  I haven't baked so much since my childhood.
Thanks

I just have to say thank you. 
I have been making all my gluten free dreams come true, because of you. 
Bagels, English muffins, bread, cinnamon rolls...
I am a chef and have followed food blogs for a very long time through my cooking journey. 
This is it. You are the elite gluten free food blog. 
You are very good at what you do.

Well written. Easy to understand. First set of instructions to speak about building strength in the starter. Never picked that up before. Thank you. 

Hi there! I'm on day 8 and just switched to the 1/1/1 feeding in the instructions. That means, if I discard down to 100g of starter daily I'll be getting rid of 200g of discard daily. When can I start using the starter vs. the discard? My starter doesn't bubble up super fast as it's cold here but it does bubble up reliably and smells amazing.

Your recipes look amazing, and a friend was very kind to share a starter with me.  I'm excited to make your bread but I have a question currently about pizza crust please. Would it be possible to use your pizza crust recipe as mini or full size deep dish? I was wondering if I formed it in the pan or pans, and let them rise in there, then perhaps docking the dough before par baking. Any assistance would be appreciated please.

Thank you very much indeed. I am four weeks in and have made 5 loaves of bread in a tin. I’m not getting enough rise to split open the cuts in the top but I have a very ancient oven (50s/60s) and over-proofing - I’m not blaming the recipe, my starter is happy. However it looks good, tastes good and keeps so well. I’m sure I’ll get better in time and I’m not spending $8 for bread full of all sorts and throwing half of it away because it goes bad. 

I accidentally killed my old gf started and found your website. Thank you for this great recipe with easy to understand steps, and your clear responses to questions was very helpful! I was successful in creating an active starter with a combo of mainly brown rice and light buckwheat flours. 
I live in Canada so it's cooler here still, but I found using the lowest 24 hour yogurt making setting on my Instapot kept it happy and consistent temperature. 

PS - I also made the bread and it was so delicious!

Super silly question- (sleep deprived brain ) I forgot to discard for one feeding, will that mess things up, and should I extend the feed/discard without use cycle?

Thank you!

This might be a silly question but in week 3-do i discard until there’s 100g of start left and then add 80g of flour and 100g of water? Does that mean I should transfer it to a big jar? At this stage can I save the discard and use it for other recipes? How long can I keep the discard for and can I keep it in the fridge? This is my first ever time making a starter and I’ve gotten this far but now I feel lost! Your instructions are so clear but for some reason I don’t feel I have a grasp on it! Halp! Thank you  

Hi Rachel, thank you so much for this recipe. It worked like magic but I am not sure about the smell. Everything is pointing to a good started. 
I haven’t been able to find anything to guide me what it’s suppose to smell like what smells I should be avoiding. 
Thank you

I used to make sourdough before having to become gluten free, so I’m very happy for this guide! 

I just reached day 5 (with sorghum flour) and when discarding 100g and feeding 50&amp;50g it came out far thicker than previous days. I tried feeding the discard 100g as well thinking maybe I had messed up, but it also came out very thick. If this behaves similar to glutinous sourdough, I know it will loosen by the next feed, but just want to see if this is a cause for concern/ if I need to adjust anything.

https://mediavine-res.cloudinary.com/video/upload/t_original/v1737008233/ipcji0gk99xyuhbpxky6.mp4

Have you always wanted to make your own gluten-free sourdough bread? First, you’ll need to learn How to Make a Gluten-Free Sourdough Starter! All it takes is gluten-free flour, water, and time.

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Top 8 gluten free sourdough recipes from across the web

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Top Tags

Gluten-Free Sourdough Bread

7-Inch Sourdough Boule (GF/V)

Easy Sourdough Crackers (GF/V)

Sourdough Cereal Snack (GF/V)

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